Open data is defined as structured data that is machine-readable, freely shared, used and built on without restrictions. The House of Commons remains committed to expanding access to parliamentary information, including Open Data and related services. Through its open data initiative, the House of Commons has established foundational elements that enable the effective delivery of open data and will do so progressively through a phased approach.

The May 2017 deliverable aims to bring awareness to this commitment, centralize existing reusable data into a single page and provide supporting information to better understand the data model. Subsequent phases of the initiative will further expand parliamentary content by adding more data to the existing content and facilitate its consumption and reuse.

Data Model Glossary

Featured Datasets

Individual members of Parliament and their current roles

Members may fulfill any of a variety of roles, from the Speaker and other presiding officers, to the Board of Internal Economy or House officers, to members of the House of Commons standing committees, legislative committees, special committees, standing joint committees, special joint committees, or panel of chairs of legislative committees, to parliamentary secretaries, or members of the Ministry (Cabinet) and parliamentary diplomacy.

Learn More

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information on individual members of Parliament and their current roles, including name, constituency, province/territory, party, and other roles related to their work in the Chamber/caucus, in committees, or in relation to parliamentary diplomacy.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

    • Person Short Honorific: Official honorific title
    • Person Official First Name: First name
    • Person Official Last Name: Last name
    • Constituency Name: Constituency name
    • Constituency Province/Territory Name: Province/territory of the constituency
    • Caucus Short Name: Political party
    • From Date Time: Last time elected
    • To Date Time: End of mandate
    • ParliamentNumber: Parliament number
    • SessionNumber: Session number
    • AffiliationRoleName: Member’s role
    • CommitteeName: Member’s committee name
  • Parliamentary Associations and Interparliamentary Groups Export:
    • Organization Title: Member’s organization name
    • Association Member Role Type: Association member’s role

Steps to download data

Example of URL

http://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/First Name-Last Name(ID number)/XML

Individual members of Parliament and their current and historic roles

Members’ roles and committee memberships are varied and range from the Speaker and other presiding officers, to the Board of Internal Economy and House officers, to members of the House of Commons standing committees, legislative committees, special committees, standing joint committees, special joint committees, and the Panel of chairs of legislative committees to parliamentary secretaries, and members of the the Ministry (Cabinet).

Learn more

General guidelines

  • This data set includes current and historical information on members of Parliament, including data for name, constituency, province/territory, party, and roles related to their work in the Chamber/caucus, in committee, and in relation to parliamentary diplomacy.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

    • Person Short Honorific: Official honorific title
    • Person Official First Name: First name
    • Person Official Last Name: Last name
    • Constituency Name: Member’s Constituency
    • Constituency Province Territory Name: Province/Territory of the constituency
    • Caucus Short Name: Political party
    • From Date Time: Last time elected
    • To Date Time: End of mandate
    • ParliamentNumber: Parliament number
    • SessionNumber: Session number
    • AffiliationRoleName: Member’s role
    • CommitteeName: Member’s committee name
  • Caucus Member Roles:
    • Caucus Member Role
    • Caucus Short Name
    • From Date Time
    • To Date Time
    • Parliament Number
  • Parliamentary Position Roles:
    • Parliamentary Position Role
    • Title
    • From Date Time
    • To Date Time
  • Committee Member Roles:
    • Parliament Number
    • Session Number
    • Affiliation Role Name
    • Committee Name
    • From Date Time
    • To Date Time
  • Election Candidate Roles:
    • Election Candidate Role
    • Election Event Type Name
    • To Date Time
    • Constituency Name
    • Constituency Province Territory Name
    • Political Party Name
    • Resolved Election Result Type Name

Steps to download data

  • STEP 1: Access Member of Parliament Page
  • STEP 2: Choose a member of parliament
  • STEP 3: Select "Roles" link
  • STEP 4: Select "View All Roles (Current and Past)" link
  • STEP 5: Choose "CSV" or "XML" to export

Example of URL

http://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/First Name-Last Name(ID number)/XML

Members’ Expenditures

The Members’ Expenditures Report summarizes the expenditures incurred by members, as well as those related to resources (provided by the House of Commons) required to support members in the discharge of their parliamentary functions. The Members’ Expenditures Report presents year-to-date expenditures by budget and expense category.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for current members of Parliament and their expenditures.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Constituency ID
  • Name-fr / Name-en: Constituency name
  • Member Party: Member’s political party
  • Expenditure Categories: Types and categories of expenses
  • ResourcesProvidedByTheHouse: Resource provided by the House of Commons (true or false)
  • Members Budget Currency: Expense currency
  • Total Currency: Total amount of specific expense
  • FirstName: Member’s first name
  • LastName: Member’s last name
  • MemberID: Unique code identifying the member of Parliament

Steps to download data

Example of URL

https://www.ourcommons.ca/PublicDisclosure/MemberExpenditures.aspx?Id=Dynamic document ID&Language=F&View=M&MemberId=Member ID&FormatType=XML

House Officers' Expenditures

The House Officers' Expenditures Report summarizes the expenditures incurred by House Officers in the discharge of their parliamentary functions.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for House Officers and their expenditures.
  • This feed is provided in a standard CSV format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports. Refer to the instructions provided with your selected tool to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Role: House Officer role
  • Caucus: Political party
  • Name: House Officer's name
  • From: Start date of period covered
  • To: End date of period covered
  • Employees' Salaries: Salaries of House Officer's employees
  • Service contracts: Expenses for professional, technical and administrative services
  • Travel: Travel expenses for House Officer and House Officer's employees
  • Hospitality: Expenses for meals, refreshments and receptions, as well as gifts given as a matter of protocol
  • Office: Various office expenses
  • Total: Total amount of expenses

Steps to download data

  • STEP 1: Access the Reports and Disclosure page.
  • STEP 2: Scroll down to the House Officers' Expenditures Report section.
  • STEP 3: Select the CSV format of the report to export the data.

Example of URL

https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Disclosure/HouseOfficers/HOER-Fiscal Year From-Fiscal Year To-Report Quarter-e.csv

Current members of Parliament

Canada is divided into 338 electoral districts, each of which sends one member to the House of Commons. An electoral district can be defined as any place or territorial area in Canada entitled to return a person to serve in the House of Commons. The boundaries of an electoral district are determined by an electoral boundaries commission following each decennial (10-year) census when the number of seats to be apportioned among the provinces is decided. These districts or constituencies are grouped by province and territory, and the population serves as the main basis for assigning the seat total to each.

Learn More

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for all current members.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Member of Parliament:
    • Person Short Honorific: Official honorific title
    • Person Official First Name: First name
    • Person Official Last Name: Last name
    • Constituency Name: Constituency name
    • Constituency Province Territory Name: Province/territory of the constituency
    • Caucus Short Name: Political party
    • From Date Time: Last time elected
    • To Date Time: End of mandate

Download data

XML

Current parliamentary secretaries

Parliamentary secretaries are members of the government party who are appointed by the Prime Minister to assist cabinet ministers with their parliamentary duties. Under the direction of their ministers, parliamentary secretaries handle routine matters in the House of Commons, engage in committee work, and assume some extra-parliamentary responsibilities.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for current parliamentary secretaries.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Parliamentary Secretary:
    • Person Short Honorific: Official honorific title
    • Person Official First Name: Member’s first name
    • Person Official Last Name: Member’s last name
    • Title: Official title
    • Constituency Name: Member’s constituency
    • Province Territory Name: Province/territory of the constituency
    • Caucus Short Name

Download data

XML

Current party standings in the House of Commons

Party standings are considered official only once the Clerk of the House of Commons receives either the certificate of election from the Chief Electoral Officer or an official communication from an MP.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for current party standings.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Party Standing:
    • Province Territory Name
    • Caucus short Name: Political party
    • Seat Count: Number of seats

Download data

XML

List of current constituencies

Members of Parliament represent constituencies, often called ridings or electoral districts, from across the country. Constituencies are established by Parliament and are reviewed after each decennial (10-year) census to reflect changes and movements in Canada's population.

Learn More

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for all current members of Parliament and their constituencies, includingname, province/territory name, current person short honorific, current person official first name, current person official last name, and current caucus short name.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Constituency:
    • Name: Constituency name
    • Province Territory Name: Province/territory of the constituency
    • Current Person Short Honorific: Official honorific title if applicable
    • Current Person Official First Name: Member’s first name
    • Current Person Official Last Name: Member’s last name
    • Current Caucus Short Name: Member’s political party

Download data

XML

The Speaker and other presiding officers

The Speaker and other presiding officers oversee the sittings and proceedings of the House of Commons, maintaining order and decorum in the Chamber.

Learn More

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for current Chair occupants.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Chair Occupant:
    • Person Short Honorific: Official honorific title
    • Person Official First Name: Member’s first name
    • Person Official Last Name: Member’s last name
    • Title: Member’s official title
    • Constituency Name: Constituency name
    • Province Territory Name: Province/territory of the constituency
    • Caucus Short Name: Member’s political party
    • From Date Time: Last time elected
    • To Date Time: End of mandate

Download data

XML

Ministers of the Crown (Cabinet)

The Cabinet is composed of the Prime Minister, ministers and ministers of state, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, and the President of the Treasury Board.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for current ministers of the Crown.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Minister:
    • Order of Precedence: Hierarchal order
    • Person Short Honorific: Official honorific title
    • Person Official First Name: Member’s first name
    • Person Official Last Name: Member’s last name
    • Title: Official title
    • Province Territory Name: Province/territory of the constituency
    • From Date time: Function start date
    • To Date Time: Function end date

Download data

XML

LEGISinfo: Bills

LEGISinfo provides information on all bills considered by the Senate and the House of Commons since the start of the 37th Parliament in 2001. Note that the titles and numbers of most bills considered by Parliament between 1994 and 2000 are also available along with the bill publication information.

This feed provides bills and related information for the current parliament and session.

Learn More

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises all bills from the current or latest session.
  • This feed is provided in JSON or XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Bill:
    • NumberCode: Bill number
    • ParliamentNumber: Parliament number
    • SessionNumber: Session number
    • LongTitle: Official bill title
    • ShortTitle: Alternate short title (if available)
    • BillDocumentTypeName: The bill type name
    • StatusName: The current status of the bill

Download data (latest session)

JSON XML

Bills from a custom search

There are two main categories of bills: public bills and private bills. While public bills deal with questions of national interest, the purpose of private bills is to grant powers, special rights or exemptions to a person or persons, including corporations.

This feed provides complete information for all bills for a specific parliamentary session.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for specific past and present bills.
  • It is recommended to use RSS feeds in combination with an RSS reader whether online or locally installed. You are also free to integrate our RSS feeds into your blog or other interfaces; you can access updated House of Commons Open Data content in the way that works best for you.
  • House of Commons RSS feeds are constantly updated as updated content is published.
  • This feed is provided in JSON, XML or RSS format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Steps to download data

  • STEP 1: Access LEGISinfo Search
  • STEP 2: Choose a session
  • STEP 3: Update other refiners (optional step)
  • STEP 4: Select "JSON", "XML" or "RSS" at the bottom of the page to export

Example URLs

https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bills/json?parlsession=Parliament-Session https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bills/xml?parlsession=Parliament-Session https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bills/rss?parlsession=Parliament-Session

Specific Bill Details

LEGISinfo provides information on all bills considered by the Senate and the House of Commons since the start of the 37th Parliament in 2001. This feed allows for the retrieval of a complete set of information on a specific bill.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for specific past and present bills.
  • This feed is provided in JSON or XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Bill:
    • NumberCode: Bill number
    • ParliamentNumber: Parliament number
    • SessionNumber: Session number
    • LongTitle: Official bill title
    • ShortTitle: Alternate short title (if available)
    • BillDocumentTypeName: The bill type name
    • StatusName: The current status of the bill

Steps to download data

  • STEP 1: Access LEGISinfo
  • STEP 2: Click on one of the bills in the list
  • STEP 3: Select "JSON" or "XML" at the bottom of the page to export

Specific Bill Publication

LEGISinfo provides information on all bills considered by the Senate and the House of Commons since the start of the 37th Parliament in 2001. This feed allows for the retrieval of specific bill publication.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for specific past and present bills.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Identification:
    • BillNumber: Number of the bill
    • Number: Parliament number
    • Session: Session number
    • LongTitle: Official bill title
    • ShortTitle: Alternate short title (if available)
  • Introduction: Detailed textual description of the bill
  • Body: Article-by-article description of the bill (and Amendments)

Steps to download data

  • STEP 1: Access LEGISinfo
  • STEP 2: Choose a bill
  • STEP 3: Click on the "Text of the bill" button
  • STEP 4: Choose a version of the bill (via the tabs)
  • STEP 5: Click on the "XML" button to export

Votes

The will of the House is ascertained by means of a vote. Once debate on a motion has concluded, either because no member rises to speak or because of a predetermined deadline, the Speaker puts the question and the House pronounces itself on the motion. A simple majority of the members is required to adopt or defeat a question.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information for votes on bills and motions for specific parliaments and sessions.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Votes Sitting:
    • Description: Vote subject (bill/motion)
    • Decision: Vote decision
    • Related Bill Number: Bill/motion number
    • Total Yeas: Votes for the bill/motion
    • Total Nays: Votes against the bill/motion
    • Total Paired: Total votes

Steps to download data

  • STEP 1: Access Vote Listing
  • STEP 2: Use the search criteria and filters to find specific votes
  • STEP 3: Select "XML" to export

Example of URL

http://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/Votes/XML?parlSession=Session ID&output=XML

Debates (Hansards)

Debates (Hansards) are the transcripts of all member of Parliament interventions in the Chamber. Hansards are typically available the next business day.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information about the Hansards.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Volume: Hansard volume number
  • Number: Hansard number
  • Session: Session number
  • Parliament: Parliament number
  • Date: Date of the debate
  • SpeakerName: Speaker name during the debate
  • HeaderDate: Debate date
  • InCameraNote: Only if in camera session
  • Timestamp: Intervention time
  • Type: Intervention type
  • Affiliation: Name of the intervenor and his/her constituency name

Steps to download data

  • STEP 1: Access the publications
  • STEP 2: Choose a date
  • STEP 3: Select "Debates (Hansard)" tab
  • STEP 4: Select "XML" to export

Example of URL

http://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/House/Parliament and Session/Debates/Sitting Number/HANSitting Number-E.XML

Committee Evidence

As part of the consideration of the matters referred to committees by the House or taken up as part of the general mandate conferred on them, committees seek information and comment from a wide variety of sources. Briefings and background documents are routinely provided by committee research staff and government departments. Committees also devote considerable effort to gathering the views of those knowledgeable about or directly concerned by the issue before them. This may range from a relatively small group of technical experts to the Canadian public at large.

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information about committees’ evidence.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • InstitutionDebate: Committee name
  • Session: Committee session number
  • Parliament: Parliament number
  • Date
  • MetaTitleEn: Document title in English
  • MetaTitleFr: Document title in French
  • Acronym: Committee name acronym
  • SpeakerName: Name of the Chair
  • InCameraNote: Only if in camera session
  • Timestamp: Intervention time
  • Type: Intervention type
  • Affiliation: Name of the intervenor

Steps to download data

  • STEP 1: Access the list of committees
  • STEP 2: Choose a committee
  • STEP 3: Select "Meetings" link
  • STEP 4: Choose a session
  • STEP 5: Choose a meeting
  • STEP 6: Select "Evidence" link
  • STEP 7: Select "XML" to export

Example of URL

http://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/Parliament and Session/Committee Acronym/Evidence/Evidence ID/Document ID.XML

Publications Search

The House produces many documents for the use of its members, their staff and the public. These documents enable all interested parties to follow parliamentary business. They also provide a permanent record of debate, decisions made, and information about business due to come before the House and its committees. All House publications are published simultaneously in both official languages and are made available electronically.

The indexing of a subject of business is typically done the day after the Hansard has been published (two days after the event).

General guidelines

  • By default, this data set comprises selected information for publications search results for the previous seven days the House was sitting.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.
    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • ProfileURL: Member profile URL
  • First Name: First name
  • Last Name: Last name
  • Honorific: Official honorific title
  • Constituency: Constituency name
  • Caucus Abbr: Political party abbreviation
  • Province Code: Province abbreviation
  • Image: Photograph of MP
  • OrderOfBusiness: Type of business (Ex.: Statements by Members)
  • SubjectOfBusiness: Specific discussed subject
  • EventType: Type of event, usually MP’s Interventions

Download data

XML

Petitions

A petition is used to draw attention to an issue of public interest or concern and to request that the House of Commons, the Government of Canada, a minister of the Crown, or a member of the House of Commons take some action.

This feed provides information on all paper and electronic petitions for the current Parliament.

Learn more

General guidelines

  • This data set comprises selected information on petitions results.
  • This feed is provided in a standard XML format. Once imported into a spreadsheet or database tool of your choice, the data can be filtered and sorted to create customized reports.

    Please refer to the instructions within the tool of your choice to find out how to import external data.

Main fields

  • Petition Signature Count:
    • Parliament: Parliament number
    • Status ID: Status number of the petition
    • Status Name: Status name of the petition
    • Petition Number: Number of the petition
    • Title: Title of the petition
    • Petitioner First Name: First name of the petitioner
    • Petitioner Last Name: Last name of the petitioner
    • Constituency: M.P.'s constituency
    • Caucus: M.P.'s political Party
    • Province Code: M.P.'s province code
    • Sponsor: M.P. who has authorized the petition's publication
  • Provinces’ Signatures:
    • Signature Opening Date Time: Ready for signature date
    • Signature Closing Date Time: End of availability date
    • Non Certification Date Time: Petition final certification date

Download data

XML